ATHENS, Ga. (Nov. 23, 2012) – Suffering through a 12-minute scoring drought in the first half, the ETSU men’s basketball team looked on as Georgia went on a 15-0 run to build an 18-point halftime lead and ultimately drop the Buccaneers 54-38 Friday night in non-conference basketball action at the Stegeman Coliseum.

Despite the offensive struggles, the young Bucs managed to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 11 points on a pair of occasions in the second half, but the Southeastern Conference opponent ultimately had too much firepower for ETSU.

“When you don’t score the ball easy, you just look bad,” said ETSU head coach Murry Bartow. “It was a painful game to watch, and a painful game to coach. I take responsibility for that. We have to keep working and trying to get better. I’m happy that we fought and battled in the second half, but right now offensively we’re just not very good.”

The Bucs, who were unable to manage much offensively and shot just 28 percent from the floor during the game, got a team-high 12 points from redshirt freshman Lester Wilson (Knoxville). Meanwhile, Georgia’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope netted a game-high 13 points, and Donte Williams pitched in 12 in the winning effort.

In the first half, ETSU actually led the game at 11-10 thanks to made 3-pointer from Wilson with 12:13 left before the intermission. However, at that point, the Bucs went the rest of the first half without a field goal and Georgia outscored ETSU 21-2 during that timeframe.

After the intermission, the Bucs’ offense was better and got to within 11 at 43-32 and 46-35, but UGA answered the runs to keep ETSU at bay. Georgia led by as many as 19 in the second half before wrapping up the 54-38 victory.

Georgia shot a blistering and efficient 63.2 percent from the floor for the game and 43 percent from beyond the arc. Good numbers for ETSU included 10 steals on the night and the Bucs committed just 13 turnovers in the contest.

Individually, ETSU freshman point guard Petey McClain (Mobile, Ala.) put together a strong effort with eight points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals on the night. In addition, sophomore guard Rashawn Rembert (Tampa) pitched in nine points on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

The Bucs will now regroup and prepare for their return to action next Thursday night at home against Milligan. Tip is set for 7 p.m. inside the Dome. For more on ETSU men’s basketball throughout the 2012-13 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s hoops link.